Judi Dench Says Daniel Craig Pushed for M's Death in Bond Films
In her new memoir, Dench writes that producers and director Sam Mendes told her over dinner that M would be killed off in Skyfall.
Judi Dench says in her new memoir that Daniel Craig pushed for her James Bond character, M, to be killed off, according to comingsoon.net. The book, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, addresses the decision to end M's run on screen.
Dench writes that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, along with Skyfall director Sam Mendes, told her over dinner at the Wolseley restaurant in London that M would be killed off. She says it was reportedly Craig's idea to have her killed.
She also jokes that Ralph Fiennes, who took over as M, "sacked" her character first. Dench adds that reports she cried over being replaced were untrue.
From GoldenEye to Skyfall
Dench played M in eight Bond films, from 1995's GoldenEye through 2012's Skyfall, in which M was killed off, and had a brief cameo in Spectre. In the memoir, she says she had long asked to be let out from behind her desk, noting that on GoldenEye the unit travelled to Monte Carlo and St. Petersburg while she had only three days in Watford.
Speculation about who could succeed Craig as 007 has included Jack Lowden and Callum Turner.
Quick answers
What is Judi Dench's memoir called?
The memoir is titled Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?.
Which Bond film killed off Dench's M?
M was killed off in 2012's Skyfall.